Keramiah Tor
A Banisher formerly serving Inquisitor Ahmazzi of the Tyrantine Cabal, Keramiah Tor is now a senior member of the Collegiate Exterminatus and one of the most experienced of his rank in the Calixis Sector. Tor served Ahmazzi for many years, and by all accounts stood on the verge of elevation to the rank of Interrogator. His peers fully expected that he would eventually ascend to bear the Inquisitor’s rosette, but sadly, it was not to be. Two decades ago, Tor was brought before the high council of the Calixian Conclave to be judged, and was found wanting. Although the Banisher was found to be free from corruption and untouched by the taint of the Warp, his mind and soul had become so entrenched and rigid by what he had witnessed in the course of his duties that the assembled Inquisitors decided he lacked the wits to progress further in rank. Ahmazzi, who had willingly submitted his Acolyte to the conclave’s judgment, was bitterly disappointed. Though he could have ignored the judgment of his peers and elevated Tor to Interrogator status, Inquisitor Ahmazzi saw that to do so would be divisive and cause certain other Inquisitors to align themselves against him. Reluctantly, Ahmazzi acceded to the council’s verdict. The Banisher himself appeared unmoved by the judgement, a fact that served to confirm the decision in the minds of the members of the conclave. Ahmazzi retained Tor’s services, for he had served stoically against the foes of Mankind for many years, and so his master sponsored his induction into the upper echelons of the Collegiate Exterminatus, where he serves to this day. Keramiah Tor continues to undertake missions for the Calixian Malleus, though not under the auspices of any one Inquisitor. Instead, he works at the behest of the Collegiate, answering the needs of any Inquisitor who requests his specialized knowledge. Tor is a Banisher of unparalleled skill and experience, and so his services are requested frequently. When a cadre of Inquisitors or a cell of Acolytes faces a daemonic threat too severe for them to defeat alone, the Collegiate dispatches Tor to aid them, since his knowledge of the infernal and his unwavering faith can likely tackle anything the servants of the Ruinous Powers can throw at him. Despite his skill and fortitude, Keramiah Tor is a broken man with very little will or passion for anything other than slaying daemons in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. Even that task he takes up with grim determination as he recites litanies against the powers of Chaos. His drive has been sapped from him by the forbidden knowledge locked away in his head, and eroded from him by the sights he has seen. For this reason he is referred to by his peers as the “hollow priest”, for his eyes appear empty, and his soul withered. He rarely speaks, and then only to answer queries with mumbled, esoteric riddles. In the field, he does not take charge, instead relying on those around him to lead the way. It is only when confronted with Daemons of Chaos that he shows any passion at all. Then, the holy invective of his calling comes tumbling from his lips and his formidable powers shine forth to blast the infernal scions of the Ruinous Powers back to the dimension they hailed from. Tor is not a fighter by nature, though he bears a shoulder-mounted, mind impulse unit-controlled bolter armed with psybolt ammunition as a weapon of last resort. Despite his lack of social skills and awareness, Karemiah Tor is one of the foremost Banishers in the Calixis Sector, and many Acolytes have been saved from a fate far worse than death by his presence in the midst of a daemonic threat.